The Holiday

So much tells me that I should be bashing The Holiday. From its predictability, clichÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½s and contrivances to its downright ludicrous and sappy moments, I know I should hate it. Yet for some reason, I found it enjoyable and at times even humorous.

The Holiday is a sweet romantic comedy. It is likable, non-offensive and moves quickly enough. It is a chick ﬂick. It has the obligatory cad ex-boyfriends, girl singing and having a good time, and jilted girl meets perfect guy clichÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½s.

Cameron Diaz stars as Amanda, an LA ﬁlm trailer producer who throws her cheating boyfriend out of her house. Kate Winslet stars as Iris, an English reporter who just discovered that the man she has cared about for three years is getting married to another woman.

Amanda and Iris decide to take vacations and, through a miraculous coincidence, hook up with each other on a house exchange. Amanda travels to England for Christmas while Iris heads for sunny LA.

Amanda meets and falls for Iris's brother (Jude Law) while Iris meets an elderly neighbor who was once a premier screenwriter (Eli Wallach) and one of her ex-boyfriend's colleagues (Jack Black).

Iris and Amanda get to know the men and get to know themselves as well. The usual predictable and clichÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½d events take place and from the time we take the video off the shelf to rent it, we know there will be a happy ending.

Will Amanda ever cry? Will Iris continue to serve as her unrequited loves' doormat for the rest of her days? Will the two women realize that the perfect men are right in front of them?

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know the answers to the questions. But perhaps that is what makes this ﬁlm so enjoyable and easy to watch. It is a feel-good ﬁlm that has no violence, little to no swearing and no problems that aren't easily wrapped up in its two-hour-plus running time.

It is a ﬁlm that you will forget about 10 minutes after watching it, but you still might be able to maintain the good feeling that you get from seeing it. Plus, until sweeps month starts again, it is better than watching repeats.

Harsh Times

Afraid that you might confuse High Times magazine, a monthly publication about the culture, uses and cultivation of cannabis and marijuana, with Harsh Times, a rather dull, pointless and depressing movie about a psycho ex-Army ranger? Well, in case of that highly improbable scenario, here is a quick checklist to help you avoid confusing the two and help pad my review for this dismal and pointless ﬁlm.

High Times is a magazine while Harsh Times is a DVD. Despite how many attempts you make to load High Times magazine into your DVD player, it will not play. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Harsh Times.

High Times magazine contains a centerfold, a la Playboy, of pot plants and buds. Boredom, annoyance and predictability are at the center of Harsh Times.

Harsh Times features Christian Bale as Army vet and psychotic hothead Jim Davis. High Times features articles such as "Willie Nelson and the History of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream," Ganja recipes and the shocking exposÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ of Bob Marley's son Stephen and his anger about marijuana laws.

This should clear up any confusion anyone might have between the two vastly different and not at all similar High Times and Harsh Times.

Harsh Times stars Bale as a 26-year-old Ranger vet. Wait, that could be Harsh Times' comedic high point. Not since Olivia Newton John in Grease have I seen such a miscasting of age. Bale, 31 at the time of the ﬁlm's release, can no sooner pass for 26 then George Bush could pass for Gandhi.

The movie focuses on Bale's character and his friend driving around Los Angeles looking for a job while getting drunk, stoned and into ﬁghts. The characters are all unlikable, unformed and basically soulless. Bale's character is about as pleasant as a hemorrhoid in August.

The ﬁlm drags along as Bale gets rejected by the LAPD, gets into a ﬁght, tries to sell a gun. He is ﬁnally hired for a job with Homeland Security. Because we have no real vested interest in Bale or his friend we really are just along for the ride, which, to me, is tantamount to being stuck in a car with Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump for eight hours.

Training Day is one of my favorite ﬁlms. Harsh Times is written and directed by George Ayers, the man who wrote Training Day. Sadly, the only thing the two have in common is LA and two guys driving around LA in a car. I did not like Harsh Times at all. I highly recommend not renting it.